The INS element contains content that has been inserted. This element is useful in marking changes from one version of a document to the next. Through style sheets, authors can suggest an appropriate rendering, such as rendering the inserted content in italics, a different color, or a different voice.

The optional CITE attribute of INS gives a URI with information on why the content was inserted. A brief explanation for the insertion can be given with the TITLE attribute, which may be rendered as a "tooltip" by some browsers.

The optional DATETIME attribute specifies the date and time of the insertion. The value is case-sensitive and of the form YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssTZD. See the values section for a full explanation of this format.